15 Pasta Salads to Make This 4th of July

Let's talk pasta salads. There are delightfully creamy versions with mayo, and there are garlicky ones with pesto. There are pasta salads made with couscous (tiny pasta!), and ones made with tortellini. But pretty much any way you bring a pasta salad together, it's guaranteed to be great. Picnic-ready and coming soon to a cookout near you, here are our top 15 pasta salads for your 4th of July party.

You can't go wrong with a good, classic pasta salad, like the creamy one pictured above with smoked gouda and roasted red peppers. But we're food lovers, and that makes it hard to resist adding things like roasted garlic and pecans to our salads. Or swapping out classic macaroni noodles for pearl couscous or even gnocchi. Or nixing the creamy mayo for yogurt or a nice pesto instead.

The point being, pasta salad is a versatile dish. The recipes here take the idea of a pasta salad and push it to the limits. Take a look and see if you spot your new favorite pasta salad of the summer — or get inspired to create your own!